Opioid analgesics

Give prescribers access to non-drug alternatives to antidepressants and opioids, says NHS

In a new framework, NHS England recommends alternative treatment options, such as psychotherapy, health coaching and pain or sleep clinics, are commissioned locally.…

Buprenorphine initiation in community pharmacy ‘feasible’ for opioid withdrawal, concludes study

Community pharmacies can safely initiate patients on buprenorphine for opioid dependence and are likely to keep them engaged with treatment for longer, according to results of a small study.…

Should we be genetic testing before prescribing analgesics?

Managing pain is difficult because there are various factors that can influence how it is perceived, but pharmacogenomic testing may be able to help fine tune pharmaceutical interventions.…

Patients in most deprived areas are 50% more likely to be prescribed dependency-forming drugs, finds NHS report 

In 2021/2022, 1.80 million patients were prescribed dependency-forming medicines, such as opioids and gabapentinoids, in England's most deprived areas, 1.66 times more than the 1.09 million in the least deprived areas.…

Management of postoperative pain

How to effectively manage pain following surgery to promote recovery, reduce the risk of side effects and dependency, and make best use of pharmacological and non-pharmacological measures.…

Long-term opioid prescribing rates rose by almost a third during the COVID-19 pandemic

Exclusive: "Worrying" NHS data show a dramatic escalation in the number of patients prescribed opioids for longer than three months.…

Pharmacies and opioid dependency: working together to better support recovery

One patient in particular led Rachel Britton to discover and develop the role of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians in helping people with opioid dependency.…

‘Think Twice’ campaign cuts unnecessary opioid prescribing for thousands of patients

Researchers discovered that opioid prescribing fell where GPs were given two-monthly feedback about prescribing levels.…

‘Unprecedented’ rise in drug overdoses in England linked with synthetic opioid

Public Health England has issued a National Patient Safety alert warning of a sharp rise in drug overdoses, which have resulted in 16 deaths around the country.…

Naloxone kit supply may have saved almost 1,400 lives in 2020, report finds

There has been a large increase in the uptake of take-home naloxone kits in Scotland, and the emergency antidote for overdoses caused by heroin and other opioids is likely to have saved many lives.…